One of the topics that I had always felt was overlooked when teaching the Middle Ages was conveying the power struggles that occurred between popes and kings. I’ve yet to find a textbook that addresses the topic well. Even when they do present information about specific popes or kings they don’t present the context you would need to analyze this nuanced relationship.

That’s why I decided I would write my own. I created a lesson where students would examine several specific historical case studies. You could use these resources in many ways but what I asked students to do was to work in groups to analyze a single case study and then compare their findings with other students to see the broader picture. The documents are posted below:

My lesson plan required the students to work in groups to analyze the material. Students worked in groups of five to read one of the documents and then complete three tasks. First they had to summarize the events of their case study. Then they had to describe the specific kind of power wielded by the pope in their case study as well as the kind of power exercised by the king.

I had each group record their answers in a Google Doc which was shared with the entire class. That allowed everyone in the class to have access to the answers from each group. Each group recorded their answers in a separate section of the document. An example of the document is depicted on the right.

The final step then was to reorganize the class so that each new group contained one person who had analyzed each case study. The students briefly shared the events of their case study and their findings regarding the types of power that popes and kings held. They then tried to reach a consensus in their group about who was more powerful in the Middle Ages: popes or kings?

I was pleased by the quality of the discussions. I recommend this lesson as a good way to discuss the significance of the Christian church in Middle Ages Europe.

Please feel free to use any of the above resources. I would love to hear any ideas or feedback you have. Enjoy!

]]>https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/popes-vs-kings/feed/3PopesVsKingsmisterzollerPopesVsKingsBannerPopesVsKingsPopesKingsGoogleDocSnapchat Rome Assessment Questionshttps://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/rome-assessment-questions/
https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/rome-assessment-questions/#respondFri, 28 Mar 2014 18:36:21 +0000http://misterzoller.wordpress.com/?p=247I woke up this morning with a gimmick idea for the format of an assessment question. The concept is to make all of the options in a multiple choice question a faux-screenshot of a Snapchat message. This could be done with any historical figure or, in fact, could be adapted for any subject. The benefit of formatting questions like this is that you can present a knowledge-level question in an interesting way where students have to apply their learning to “their world”.

The example I created is based on a knowledge-level question about Julius Caesar. Let’s assume that you wanted to assess whether your students knew that Julius Caesar emerged from the First Triumvirate to become dictator of Rome before he was betrayed as assassinated. You might otherwise write a question like this:

Which of the following is a true statement about Julius Caesar?

He defeated his rival, Gnaeus Pompey, and was named dictator for life by the Roman Senate

He was the general who was responsible for conquering Carthage and winning the Punic Wars

He ordered the construction of the Colosseum in Rome

He named Constantinople the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and began construction of the Hagia Sophia

A more engaging way to present the same questions might be:

OMG. You just got a Snapchat from juliuscaesar! If you had actually received a Snapchat message from Julius Caesar, which of the following choices would be the most realistic message he might send?

The correct answer, of course, is E I mean A.

UPDATE:

You could do the same thing using Twitter or any other social media as the basis. Here is an example of a knowledge level question about the Roman Emperors:

The account of one of the Roman emperors you follow has been hacked and is sending out incorrect updates about that emperor. Examine your Twitter feed below. Based on your knowledge of the accomplishments of Roman emperors, which account is about to lose its blue “verified” check mark?

This time the answer is D. Emperor Hadrian built Hadrian’s wall; it was Justinian who rebuilt the Hagia Sophia.

Feel free to use these images or rework the idea for your own purposes. I’d love to hear feedback or other ideas you might have. Enjoy!

]]>https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/rome-assessment-questions/feed/0SnapBannermisterzollerSnapChat1SnapChat3SnapChat4SnapChat2SnapChat5Twitter1Twitter2Twitter3Twitter4Fall of Rome – Reader’s Theaterhttps://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/fall-of-the-rome-readers-theater/
https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/fall-of-the-rome-readers-theater/#respondSun, 23 Mar 2014 15:28:47 +0000http://misterzoller.wordpress.com/?p=227A week ago I found myself looking for an interesting way to tell the story of the decline of the Roman Empire to my middle school students. The story is complex and so I wanted to guide them through it but I’m always looking for an alternative to a lecture. I hit on the idea of reader’s theater and I was pleased by the reaction I got from my students who enjoyed being able to actively participate in the story telling. I’ve included the materials below for other teachers who may wish to use them with their students.

The script has an accompanying handout for students. The handout will summarize many of the key points and so I recommend that you have your students read the corresponding section of the handout before reading each part of the script. The script is broken up into three scenes. First is an introduction which describes how the Roman Empire was eventually divided into two parts: an Eastern and a Western Roman Empire. The second scene explains the sacking of the city of Rome as well as the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The third scene portrays Emperor Justinian and the accomplishments of the Byzantine Empire. The corresponding sections of the handout are marked below:

I hope you find this useful. I’d love to hear any ideas or feedback if you use this lesson with your students. Enjoy!

]]>https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/fall-of-the-rome-readers-theater/feed/0DeclineOfRomemisterzollerDeclineRomeNBKeyVisual Take On CCSS Argument Writinghttps://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/visual-take-on-ccss-argument-writing/
https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/visual-take-on-ccss-argument-writing/#commentsFri, 13 Dec 2013 21:05:35 +0000http://misterzoller.wordpress.com/?p=182We’re experimenting with a clever way for students to practice argument writing. This year our language arts, social studies, and science departments have been aggressively integrating CCSS argument writing into our classes. We’ve been doing it frequently enough that it now elicits groans from our students when we announce that we’ll be working on another writing assignment. In social studies we’ve been using argument essays as summative assessments for our units. With another unit concluding right before winter break, I thought it would be nice to give the students a break and do a little twist on our usual essays.

The students will still be structuring their arguments using the CCSS argument writing format that we’ve taught them. The 7th grade teachers created a template that students use for argument writing in all of their core courses in 7th grade. Students will complete the template in order to organize their ideas. However, rather than typing a formal essay, students will be creating a visual representation of their argument.

This idea actually came from an unwitting student. She shared that the previous night she had been chatting with a friend on Instagram and they were using the argument writing format we had taught them as they were exchanging images. The lightbulb went on. We’ve all heard the expression “a picture is worth 1000 words”. I was interested in assessing their ideas so why not save them some words and find a way to let them work using a visual medium?

Since we are 1:1 in 7th grade social studies with iPads, we’ll be using the Strip Designer app to lay out the images. I created an example to give to the students which mirrors the template we use. I’ve inserted the example below and you can download a full-size pdf of the example here.

I’m excited for the potential. I think this will help reinforce the format by challenging the students to think about it in a different way. Plus it should be a fun way to stay engaged on the last week before winter break!

UPDATE: The students have been enthusiastically engaged with the assignment. I was pleased to see that the conversations I was having with students about their ideas and evidence were the same in this visual format as they were when we did formal typed essays. There were certainly added benefits; they students reported that they enjoyed it and they were engaged each day despite the fact that they completed the assignment the week before winter break. However, this activity was not a mere diversion. I believe it has been an effective assessment and that it contributed to our argument writing skill set.

]]>https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/visual-take-on-ccss-argument-writing/feed/1ArgumentWritingmisterzollerArgumentWritingComic1ArgumentWritingComic2ArgumentWritingComic3ArgumentWritingComic4Attack of the Pod Peoplehttps://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/attack-of-the-pod-people/
https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/attack-of-the-pod-people/#commentsThu, 29 Aug 2013 01:59:01 +0000http://misterzoller.wordpress.com/?p=158We’re in our first full week in our new modular village and so I think it is time we really make it into a home for ourselves and for our students. To help “get us settled” I’ve decided to stoke a little inter-building rivalry with the other buildings on our campus. Credit for this idea really belongs to Mike Murray and he and I collaborated to create a series of posters extolling the virtues of Building Four. A sampling can be seen below:

We took some liberties with some unsuspecting celebrities and historical figures in order to create a list of quotes befitting the education being imparted by the outstanding teachers and staff in Building Four. Then we matched the quotes to some high-resolution source images. My mom would be proud, all of the images carried a Creative Commons License or were in the public domain. Another sampling:

I’m even pretty partial to some of the ones we left on the cutting room floor:

Well, the challenge has been made so we’ll see what the other buildings have to offer. Especially Building Three – they have the art department!

]]>https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/attack-of-the-pod-people/feed/1PostersmisterzollerBuildingFourBanner1BuildingFourBanner2BuildingFourBanner3Formative Assessments Presentationhttps://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/138/
https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/138/#respondSun, 03 Mar 2013 14:50:09 +0000http://misterzoller.wordpress.com/?p=138Formative assessments are an important tool to help students monitor their learning and achieve success in the classroom. Using an LMS like Blackboard to drive your system of formative assessments can be a convenient and efficient way to incorporate them into your classroom. Attached are the highlights of my presentation Empowering students to monitor their academic progress with formative assessments: a flexible model powered by the tools available within Blackboard given at the 2013 Learn 21 Conference.

This podcast focuses on the history of the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty in China. Topics discussed include legalism, the Silk Road, and Chinese inventions. You can visit my YouTube Channel and view all of my videos by clicking here. For school districts in which YouTube us blocked, you can also find my videos posted on Vimeo.

]]>https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/qin-and-han-dynasty-podcast/feed/5QinHanFeatImagemisterzollerMr. Zoller featured in the Cincinnati Enquirerhttps://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/mr-zoller-featured-in-the-cincinnati-enquirer/
https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/mr-zoller-featured-in-the-cincinnati-enquirer/#respondWed, 02 Jan 2013 17:36:59 +0000http://misterzoller.wordpress.com/?p=70I’ve been incorporating aspects of the flipped classroom philosophy into my teaching since 2008. In November of 2012, I was featured in an article about flipping in the Cincinnati Enquirer. You can view the article by clicking here.
]]>https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/mr-zoller-featured-in-the-cincinnati-enquirer/feed/0NewsPaperFeatImagemisterzollerWorld Geography Podcastshttps://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/world-geography-podcasts/
https://misterzoller.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/world-geography-podcasts/#respondMon, 31 Dec 2012 21:40:10 +0000http://misterzoller.wordpress.com/?p=60Teaching geography is a great opportunity to apply the principles of blended learning; much of the work associate with geography (e.g. practicing map reading skills) can be done independently which allows class time to be spent on activities (e.g. simulating the effects of population density). However, I still like to be able to provide an introduction or overview so that students have some context for the information with which they will be working. As a result, I began creating podcasts that provide an introduction to the geography of some of the regions we study.

China – this podcast provides an introduction to the geography of China.

Japan – this podcast provides an introduction to the geography of Japan.

Africa – this podcast provides an introduction to the geography of the continent of Africa.

You can visit my YouTube Channel and view all of my videos by clicking here. For school districts in which YouTube us blocked, you can also find my videos posted on Vimeo.

This edition of Mr. Zoller’s Social Studies Podcasts examines the Dark Ages. Topics include the fall of the Roman Empire as well as the rise of civilizations like the Vikings and the Franks. You can visit my YouTube Channel and view all of my videos by clicking here. For school districts in which YouTube us blocked, you can also find my videos posted on Vimeo.